Media cassette with media observation opening

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6390701
  • Patent Number
    6,390,701
  • Date Filed
    Friday, May 4, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 21, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Original Assignees
  • Examiners
    • Hirshfeld; Andrew H.
    • Chau; Minh
    Agents
    • Potts; Jerry R.
Abstract
The present invention provides a low profile stackable Internet appliance printer having a removable combination input/output tray cassette. An elongated opening centrally disposed in a front wall of the cassette allows a user to determine the amount of paper stored in the cassette without withdrawing the cassette from the printer body.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates generally to a hard copy document apparatus and method of using the apparatus and, more particularly, to a stackable low profile internet appliance printer and method of using the printer.




2. Description of Related Art




With the advent of the modern day computer and the explosion in .com Internet commerical activities, there has been a growing need to move the computer and its associated peripheral devices from the desktop into a central gathering location where family members can share mutually in the Internet experience.




Conventionally however, such computer systems including processors, display monitors, printers, and internet access modems have been to large and bulky to bring into such a central gathering location, such as a family room, for the mutual enjoyment of the family. This problem has been addressed by certain manufacturers who provide integrated audio-visual entertainment centers that include high speed cable programming access as well as high speed internet access. In this regard, the cable box has the built-in capabilities of not only providing television programming displayed on a “cinema size” projection screen but also Internet accesses through a built-in Internet access module and remote keyboard. The size of the typical cable box has been configured to fit within the family entertainment center and thus such an integrated solution has been somewhat successful for viewing Internet content but not fulfilling the .com Internet commercial activities.




More specifically, most, if not all stand alone computer peripheral devices, such a printers and scanners, are not designed with any special aesthetic considerations, other than simply being a functional desktop stand alone device. In this regard, most if not all family households would find it highly undesirable to have a conventional computer printer placed along side the typically electronic equipment found in the family entertainment center.




Therefore it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved computer printer that can be easily integrated into a family entertainment center in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Such a new and improved printer should be stackable with the other electronic components found in the entertainment center and should be easy to use including the changing of printhead cartridges, changing media and clearing the printer of any media jams.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention provides a low profile stackable Internet appliance printer having a removable combination input/output tray cassette. An elongated opening centrally disposed in a front wall of the cassette allows a user to determine the amount of paper stored in the cassette without withdrawing the cassette from the printer body.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The above mentioned features of the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the manner of attaining them will become apparent, and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of the embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:





FIG. 1

is a diagrammatic perspective view of a low profile internet appliance printer that is constructed in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a diagrammatic perspective view of the low profile internet appliance printer of

FIG. 1

, illustrated with a front access door in an open position;





FIG. 3

is a diagrammatic side plan view of the internet appliance printer of

FIG. 2

with the front access door illustrated in the open position;





FIG. 4

is an enlarged diagrammatic perspective view of the internet appliance printer of

FIG. 1

with its outer skins removed for major component illustration purposes;





FIG. 5

is an enlarged diagrammatic perspective view of a media cassette of

FIG. 1

with bezel removed, illustrating its output tray in a fully extended position;





FIG. 6

is an enlarged diagrammatic perspective view of the media cassette of

FIG. 1

with bezel removed, illustrating the output tray in a retracted position;





FIG. 7

is an enlarged diagrammatic perspective view of the printer illustrated in

FIG. 1

, showing the underside of the printer with the media cassette removed therefrom;





FIG. 8

is an enlarged diagrammatic perspective view of the printer of

FIG. 1

with its front in a raised positioned with a media cassette removed therefrom;





FIG. 9

is an enlarged diagrammatic perspective view of the printer of

FIG. 1

, illustrating the front of the printer with the media cassette removed therefrom;





FIG. 10

is an enlarged diagrammatic top plan view of a media channel member of the internet appliance printer illustrated in

FIG. 8

;





FIG. 11

is a diagrammatic perspective view of the printer of

FIG. 1

illustrating the printer stacked within an electronic cabinet with other electronic components;





FIG. 12

is a greatly enlarged fragmentary diagrammatic front plan view of a front portion of the media cassette

FIG. 5

illustrating a front window thereof;





FIG. 13

is a greatly enlarged fragmentary diagrammatic perspective view of the output width adjuster assembly of

FIG. 7

, illustrating a cam action engagement for kick plate adjustment;





FIG. 14

is a greatly enlarged diagrammatic top plan view of a kick out plate of the printer of

FIG. 1

, illustrating two kick out positions;





FIG. 15

is a greatly enlarged diagrammatic rear perspective view of a removable cassette bezel for the printer of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 16

is a greatly enlarged fragmentary exploded diagrammatic front perspective view of the removable cassette bezel, illustrating it mounting relative to the media cassette of

FIG. 5

;





FIG. 17

is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view of the removable cassette bezel of

FIG. 16

, taken along the line


17





17


thereof;





FIG. 18

is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view of the removable cassette bezel of

FIG. 16

, taken along the line


18





18


thereof; and





FIG. 19

is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view of the removable cassette bezel of

FIG. 16

, taken along the line


19





19


thereof.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Reference is made now in detail to a specific embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates a best mode presently contemplated by the inventors for practicing the invention. Alternative embodiments are also briefly described as applicable. Subtitles are provided herein for reference only; no limitation on the scope of the invention is intended nor should be implied therefrom. Paper pick, print engine and feed drive software and firmware algorithms are well known in the art and beyond the scope of the present invention; therefor, knowledge of a person skilled in the art is presumed and no detailed description of such is provided herein nor is such necessary for an understanding of the present invention.




For ease in understanding the preferred embodiment of the present invention the following outline is provided:




A. Stackable Construction




B. Printhead Access Door and Attachment




C. Base Chassis




D. Combination Input/Output Tray Cassette Unit




E. Input Tray Bezel




F. Paper Observation Frame




G. Open Bottom Paper Path Channel




H. Output Width Adjuster and Kick Out Plate Assembly




A. Stackable Construction




Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to

FIG. 11

thereof, there is shown a low protile internet appliance printer


10


that is constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The internet appliance printer


10


is stackable in an electronics cabinet


12


with other electronic components such as a cable box


14


and a digital video device


16


. The printer


10


includes internet electronics and a modem (not shown) an thus, is adapted for use with a monitor


18


to enable a user to print desired images and information associated with the information displayed on the monitor


18


. For simplicity purposes, the low profile internet appliance printer


10


will be referred to hereinafter as simply “the printer”.




The printer


10


is modular in nature and generally comprises a set of assemblies as best seen in

FIG. 4

that include a base chassis assembly


20


for supporting from below a low profile print bar assembly


22


and a low profile service station assembly


24


. A media cassette assembly


26


is slidably mounted within the base assembly


20


for holding simultaneously a supply of input media and individual sheets of output media until the output media is retrieved by a user (not shown). The base chassis assembly


20


further supports at a rear portion thereof, a motor driven paper pick assembly


60


for facilitating the picking of individual sheets of input media from an input tray


32


forming part of the media cassette assembly


26


and for driving the individual picked sheets along a short paper path P through a print zone


17


. A motor driven drive roller assembly


61


mounted at a front portion of the base chassis assembly


20


, pulls the individual sheets that have passed through the print zone


17


a further distance along the paper path P so that individual ones of the sheets of media can be ejected into an output tray


34


that also forms part of the media cassette assembly


26


. An electronic assembly


30


is also mounted to the base assembly


20


for helping to facilitate the moving of the media along the paper path P and for helping to facilitate the ejecting of ink in a desired pattern onto individual ones of the media sheets as they pass through the print zone


17


.




A housing


19


covers the assemblies


20


,


22


,


24


, and


30


when they are integrated into a single unit. The housing


19


as best seen in

FIG. 1

includes a set of outer skin members: a four-sided main skin member


21


, a right front skin member


23


, a left front skin member


25


and a bottom plate member


45


(

FIG. 7

) each of which is mounted to the base chassis assembly


20


to provide the printer


10


with an overall box-like configuration. The main skin member


21


has a unitary construction and includes a left side portion


51


, a right side portion


52


, a rear portion


53


and a top portion


55


each having a generally smooth planar surface to provide the printer


10


with a pleasing aesthetic appearance.




As best seen in

FIGS. 3 and 9

, the low profile printer


10


has an upper front passageway indicated generally at


13


and a lower front passageway indicated generally at


15


. The upper passageway


13


is covered with an access door


27


having an overall L-shaped configuration. The access door


27


includes a front face member


41


and a top member


48


that are integrally connected at about an angle of ninety degrees as best seen in FIG.


3


.




B. Printhead Access Door and Attachment




The access door


27


is pivotally mounted above the lower passageway


15


and extends laterally between the right skin member


23


and the left skin member


25


. In this regard, when the access door


27


is positioned in a close position as best seen in

FIG. 1

, the front face member


41


is disposed flush to the interior side edges of the side skin members


23


and


25


to provide the printer


10


with a pleasing aesthetic appearance. In a similar manner, the top member


48


is disposed in an abutting relationship with a front top edge of the top


55


of the main skin


21


and the top interior side edges of the right skin


23


and the left skin


25


to further provide the printer


10


with a pleasing aesthetic appearance. Moreover, since the top


55


of the main skin


21


abuts the back edges of both the right skin


23


and the left skin


25


an access space indicated generally at


49


is formed when the access door


27


is moved to an open position as illustrated in FIG.


2


.




More particularly, when the access door


27


is moved from a close to an open position, as best seen in

FIGS. 1 and 2

respectively, access is provided to a low profile carriage assembly


36


that forms part of the low profile printbar assembly


22


. The carnage assembly


36


includes a pair of print cartridge stalls


37


and


38


for holding in a secure manner disposable print head cartridges, such as the cartridges


39


and


40


. The access space


49


in the top front of the printer


10


permits or allows a user to easily grasp either of the cartridges


39


or


40


for installation or removal purposes from their respective stalls


37


and


38


. Such installation or removal of cartridges is made possible even when the printer


10


is stacked beneath other electronic components, such as the electronic components


14


and


16


as illustrated in FIG.


11


. In short then, front loading and unloading of print head cartridges


39


and


40


is made possible in the low profile design of the printer


10


.




A media output slot indicated generally at


29


(FIG.


12


), is disposed adjacent a set


31


of drive rollers to permit media to pass, via the set


31


of drive rollers from the interior print zone


17


through the media output slot


29


into the output tray


34


. A set


33


of guides are mounted the interior surface of a front face member


41


of the access door


27


and cooperate with the set


31


of drive rollers to help facilitate the guiding and directing of individual sheets of media toward the output tray


34


.




The access door


27


is mounted between a night side chassis member


42


and a left side chassis member


44


that form part of the chassis assembly


20


. The right side chassis member


42


supports the service station assembly


24


, while the left side chassis, supports a combination user interface and power control module that includes a set


57


of switches, light control diodes, and infrared sensors that extend through the left side skin member


25


so they are visible to a user. The front access door


27


also facilitates the closing of the upper front passageway


13


, so that the detectable internal sounds produced by the printer


10


when printing are substantially reduced.




C. Base Chassis




Considering now the base chassis assembly


20


in greater detail with reference to FIGS.


4


and


7


-


9


, the base chassis assembly


20


is box like have a generally rectangular shape and includes a rear chassis assembly


43


that is interconnected between the right side chassis assembly


42


and the left side chassis assembly


44


. The bottom or base plate


45


has a unitary construction and is generally U-shaped. The bottom plate


45


is mounted to the bottom of the base chassis assembly


20


so that the underside of the printer


10


is provided with a planar configuration.




A right side slide rail


46


(

FIG. 8

) and a left side slide rail


47


(

FIG. 7

) are formed at the base of the right side chassis


42


and the left side chassis


44


respectively. The rails


46


and


47


are configured to receive and support the cassette


26


when the cassette


26


is slidably mounted thereon.




The lower passageway


15


as seen in a bottom plan view of the printer


10


is U-shaped and is dimensioned for receiving therein the media cassette assembly


26


. In a front plan view of the printer


10


the passageway


15


is also U-shape and is disposed in substantial parallel plane alignment with a front face portion


41


of the front door


27


. A channel or stop


35


is set back from the entrance to the passageway


15


and is mounted between the right side chassis member


42


and the left side chassis member


44


. When the cassette assembly


26


is slidably mounted in the passageway


15


, the stop


35


engages a front wall


10


(

FIG. 6

) of the cassette assembly


26


to limit or stop it from further travel within the passageway


15


. As will be explained hereinafter in greater detail, the cassette assembly


26


travels within the passageway


15


riding on the rail members


46


and


47


that form part of the right side chassis member


42


and the left side chassis member


44


respectively.




D. Combination Input/Output Tray Cassette Unit




Considering now the media cassette assembly


26


in greater detail with reference to

FIGS. 5-6

, the media cassette assembly


26


is a combination input/output tray cassette unit that is completely removable from the printer


10


. The assembly


26


includes both the input tray


32


for receiving and holding media, such as paper, for printing thereon, and the output tray


34


for receiving and holding media after it has been printed thereon. In short then, the single cassette


26


holds both the media for printing on and the media printed on after passing through the printer


10


.




As best seen in

FIGS. 7-9

, when the cassette assembly


26


is removed from the passageway


15


, a large open access space results which makes available to a user access to most if not all of the internal paper path that media follows during the printing process. A large rectangular shaped channel member


70


(

FIG. 10

) is disposed within this space mounted between the right side chassis


42


and the left side chassis


44


and extends between the rear pick roller assembly


60


and a set


68


of drive rollers (DR) forming part of the front drive roller assembly


61


. In this regard, as media is picked from the input tray


32


it travels along the media path P and is supported from below by the upper surface of the channel member


70


. The channel member


70


will be described hereinafter in greater detail. It should suffice to indicate at this point that a large cutout


71


provided in the channel manner


70


coupled with the large space that results in the underside of the printer


10


when the cassette assembly


26


is removed therefrom, provides a means for a user to clear and remove any media that might accidentally become jammed within the interior media path P of the printer


10


. In this regard, the access to the interior of the printer


10


from the passageway


15


via the cutout


71


permits the printer


10


to be stacked with other electronic components as best seen in FIG.


12


.




Considering now the cassette assembly


26


in greater detail with reference to

FIGS. 5 and 6

, the cassette assembly


26


is of a generally rectangular shape having the front wall


110


, a bottom wall or floor


112


, a pair of side walls


114


and


116


respectively, and a back or end wall


118


. The front, rear and side walls of the cassette


26


are generally of the same height and form a large space indicated generally at


120


. The space


120


is sufficiently large for receiving both standard A size media (8½-inch by 11-inch paper) as well as the narrow and longer A


4


paper. A moveable pressure plate


117


is disposed at a rear portion of the cassette


26


for helping to facilitate the picking of media from the input tray.




As best seen in

FIGS. 5 and 6

, the side walls


114


and


116


provide a stair step shape configuration with the bottom portion of the walls being recessed inwardly from the top portion of the walls


114


and


116


. A set of guides, such as a guide


121


, projects outwardly from the bottom portion of each side wall


114


,


116


and is spaced apart from one another. The guides


121


cooperate with the top portions of the side walls


114


and


116


to form rail-receiving channels there between to receive the rails


46


and


47


respectively.




An output tray receiving slot or opening indicated generally at


127


(

FIG. 5

) is formed in the front wall


110


. The slot


127


is dimensioned for receiving therein the output tray


34


. In this regard, the slot


127


extends beneath the floor


112


. The output tray


34


is supported within the slot


127


by a set of spaced apart rails (not shown) that are disposed on the interior surfaces of the bottom portions of the side walls


114


and


116


respectively. In short then, the top surface area of the bottom floor


112


is about equal to the surface area of the top surface of the output tray


34


. The area of the space


120


and that portion of the space


120


that is utilized for accommodating the different sizes of media is larger in overall area than the output tray


34


. In this regard, the output tray


34


has an area size that is between about two-thirds to three-fourth the overall area size of the space


120


.




Considering now the input tray


32


in greater detail with reference to

FIGS. 5-7

and


13


, the input tray


32


includes an output width adjuster slide assembly


130


and a paper length adjuster or slide


132


that help facilitate the loading and discharge of different sized media from the printer


10


. As will be explained hereinafter in greater detail, the assembly


130


engages a kick out plate adjuster pin


160


(

FIG. 7

) to facilitate the proper discharge of media into the output tray


34


.




The paper length adjuster slide


132


includes a media engaging tab


134


that travels in an opening


136


disposed in the floor


112


. The tab


134


is movable between two different size setting: an A-4 media size setting position as best seen in FIG.


6


and an A-1 media size setting as best seen in FIG.


5


. In the first setting size, as best seen in

FIG. 5

, the side edges of the media are engaged between the interior of the side wall


114


and an interior wall portion of a slide member


138


that forms part of the output width adjuster


130


. The top edge of the media engages the face of the slide member


138


while the bottom edge engages the back wall


118


. In the second setting size, as best seen in

FIG. 6

, the side edges of the media are engaged between the interior of the side wall


114


and the interior wall of the slide member


138


. The top edge of the media engages the face of the slide member


134


(which has now been positioned to the second size position) while the bottom edge of the media engages the back wall


118


.




In a similar manner, the output width adjuster slide assembly


130


is moveable between two different size settings in a similar manner as the paper length adjuster slide


132


. The operation of the output width adjuster slide assembly


130


will be describe hereinafter in greater detail. From the foregoing it should be understood by those skilled in the art, that different sizes of media are accommodated within the space


120


by the adjustment of the slides


130


and


132


, and that the slides


130


and


132


cooperate with the side wall


114


and the back wall


118


to form a proper size input tray cassette having a general rectangular shape.




Considering now the output tray


34


in greater detail with reference to

FIGS. 5 and 6

, the output tray


34


is slidably mounted within the cassette


26


so that it can be telescopically extended and retracted. When extended, the output tray


34


has a sufficient dimension to support either a standard A-1, 8½ by 11-inch media sheet or an A


4


media sheet, which sizes are the same as can be held within the input tray


32


.




As best seen in

FIG. 5

, the output tray


34


has a unitary construction and includes a base member


144


having a set of spaced apart rib or riser members indicated generally at


140


and


142


respectively which are integrally attached to a top surface thereof. As will be explained hereinafter in greater detail, the rib members


140


and


142


are constructed to simultaneously engage the front wall


110


of the cassette


26


when the output tray


34


is pull telescopically outward from the cassette


26


. In this manner, the risers


140


and


142


stop the outward travel of the output tray


34


positioning the output tray


34


in a proper position for supporting from below sheets of media as they are driven out of the printer


10


by the set


31


of drive rollers. As the riser members


140


and


142


are substantially identical in construction, only the riser members


140


will be described in greater detail.




The riser members


140


include four spaced apart risers, such as a riser


141


. The riser


141


has a narrow elongated construction that extends upwardly a sufficient distance from a front or proximate end thereof toward a rear or distal end to engage the underside of the front wall


110


of the cassette


26


. In this manner when the riser


141


engages the underside of the front wall


10


the forward travel of the output tray extending outwardly from the cassette


26


is inhibited.




From the foregoing, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the riser member


140


and


142


because of their orientation on opposite sides of the output tray


34


interlock the underside of the front wall


110


at about the end of the path of travel followed by the output tray


34


allowing the output tray to easily slide through most of its motion and yet tilt at about a zero degree to about a two degree angle at the end of its travel motion to facilitate the capture and holding of output media discharged from the printer


10


.




In order to help facilitate the extending of the output tray


34


from the cassette


26


, the output tray


34


further includes an opening


145


that is disposed adjacent to a front edge


146


of the output tray and between a pair of wedge members


147


and


148


respectively. The opening


145


functions as a griping handle that can be grasp by a user to pull the output tray


34


outwardly from the cassette


26


. The wedge members


147


and


148


slope upwardly from the upper surface of the base


144


reaching their maximum height at the respective front comers of the output tray. In this manner the wedge members


147


and


148


function as stops to limit the forward travel of the media sheets as they are driven in seriatim from the printer


10


so that the media sheets are stacked on the upper surface of the base


144


.




In use, when the cassette


26


is inserted into the passageway


15


, the cassette


26


is fully received within the printer


10


without the output tray


34


extending beyond the front face of the printer


10


. The cassette


26


slides along the rails


46


and


47


until a front wall member


110


thereof engages the channel stop


35


. When the cassette


26


is pulled out from the passageway


15


, the cassette


26


travels in a reverse direction along the rails


46


,


47


until a stop member


123


of a right side wall


114


of the cassette engages a backside of the channel stop


35


. As will be explained hereinafter in greater detail, the right side wall


114


includes an elongated flexible extension


125


that can be depressed by the user to release the stop


123


from engagement with the channel stop


35


. The extension


125


is integrally attached at its proximate end to the main body portion of the side wall


114


and has a narrow concave configuration at its distal end to help a user locate that portion of the extension that needs to be pressed to release the cassette


26


from the lower passageway


15


.




More particularly, when the extension


125


is depressed in a down direction, the cassette


26


can continue its reverse path of travel under the force of the user allowing the cassette


26


to be completely removed from the printer


10


. From the foregoing, it should be understood by those skilled in the art, that the cassette


26


can be moved a sufficient distance out from the interior of the printer


10


to allow the cassette


26


to be filled or refilled with a desired type of media. Furthermore, the cassette


26


can be completely removed from the printer to give the user access to the interior of the printer


10


via the access passageway


15


and the cutout


71


. In this manner, the clearing of paper jams is facilitated while the printer


10


remains in a stacked orientation with other electronic components as best seen in FIG.


7


.




E. Input Tray Bezel Considering now the cassette assembly


26


in greater detail with reference to FIGS.


1


and


15


-


19


, the bezel


50


has a unitary construction that generally includes a left side wall member


199


, a right side wall member


198


and a central wall member


200


. The respective ones of the side wall members


198


and


199


have cutouts that are sufficient large to permit the output tray


34


to pass therethrough. Integrally connected and extending perpendicular to the side walls


198


and


199


are a pair of wing members


190


and


191


.




As best seen in

FIG. 16

, the bezel


50


is mounted removably to the front wall


110


and the side walls


114


and


116


for providing the cassette


26


with a pleasing aesthetic appearance. In order to help secure the bezel


50


to the cassette


26


, a right side snap or projection


180


and a left side snap


181


extend outwardly from the lower portions of the side walls


114


and


116


respectively at their lower distal ends adjacent to the front wall. A pair of snap engaging opening


182


and


183


for engaging the side wall snaps


180


and


181


.The opening


182


and


183


are disposed in the lower portions of the wing members


190


and


191


respectively.




To further help secure the bezel


50


to the cassette


26


, the bezel


50


also includes a pair of spaced apart fixing pins


184


and


185


that are dimensioned for sliding engagement with a corresponding pair of centrally disposed pin holes


186


and


187


(

FIG. 16

) disposed in the cassette


26


at the front wall


110


thereof. The pins


184


and


185


form part of a boss


197


that projects outwardly from the central wall


200


. An opening is formed in the boss


197


and is defined by two interior walls


195


and


196


.




A pair of spaced apart overhangs


188


and


189


is disposed on the rear face of the bezel


50


. The top edge portion of the front wall


110


supports from below the overhangs


188


and


189


. In summary then, when the bezel


50


is attached to the cassette


26


, the bezel


50


is mounted to the front wall


110


between the two side walls


114


and


116


respectively.




F. Paper Observation Frame




As best seen in

FIG. 12

, the front wall


110


of the cassette assembly


26


includes a centrally disposed rectangular shaped recess


193


. The recess


193


is disposed opposite the opening


145


to help prevent the fingers of the user from engaging the front wall when the user pulls the output tray


34


outwardly. A semi-elliptical cutout


192


is disposed in the center of the recess


193


to provide an observation window or frame to the interior of the input tray


32


. Thus, as best seen in

FIG. 12

when the input tray


32


is loaded with a stack of input media


194


, the user is able to determine the amount of input media that remains in the input tray


32


by simple observation. The semi-elliptical cutout


192


is wider at its base adjacent the output tray than at its top adjacent the top of the recess


193


. In this manner, the user is able to have a grater view of a low supply of media than a full supply of media.




G. Open Bottom Paper Path




Considering now the channel member


70


in greater detail with reference to

FIGS. 7-8

and


10


, the channel member


70


is mounted between the rear pick roller assembly


60


and the rear set


68


of drive rollers (DR) forming part of the front drive roller assembly


61


. The channel member


70


is disposed within the passageway


15


such that the upper surface of the channel member is in a parallel plane with the nips of the set


68


of the set


68


of the rear drive rollers (DR) so that media passing along the top surface of the channel member


70


is directed into the nips of the drive rollers.




The front of the channel member


70


includes a plurality of notched cutouts


72


-


75


that are dimensioned to be slightly larger in width than individual ones of the drive rollers DR of the drive roller assembly


61


. In this regard, a front edge portion


81


of the channel member


70


is mounted in adjacent abutment to the rollers DR without making direct contact with the rollers or the drive shaft


62


of the drive roller assembly


61


. Centrally disposed openings, such as the openings


7


-


79


are disposed opposite each one of the notched cutouts


72


-


75


and spaced from the central cutout


71


. The opening


76


-


79


provides further access to the paper path P.




Another set of notched cutouts


81


-


83


are disposed at the rear portion of the channel member


70


. The notched cutouts


81


-


83


are dimensioned to be slightly larger in width than individual ones of the pick rollers PR of the pick roller assembly


60


. In this regard, a rear edge portion


84


of the channel member


70


is mounted in adjacent abutment to the pick rollers PR without making contact the pick rollers PR of their associated drive shaft


85


.




As best seen in

FIG. 10

, the cutout


71


has a generally elliptical shape with a wide base indicated generally at


86


and a narrow top indicated generally at


87


. The cutout


71


is centrally disposed within the channel member


70


and space from the front notched cutouts


72


-


75


and the rear notched cutouts


81


-


83


. In this manner, the cutouts


71


, and


72


-


75


, and


81


-


83


in combination provide a substantially open paper path that facilitates the easy removal of substantially any paper jam without the need of the user lifting the printer


10


from its supporting surface.




H. Output Width Adjuster and Kick Out Plate Assembly




In order to align the output media properly as it passes from the media output slot


29


to the output tray


34


, the printer


10


includes a kick out plate assembly


58


(FIG.


14


). The kick out plate assembly


58


generally comprises platen or a ribbed kicked out plate


59


that is mounted between the rear set


68


and the front set


69


of drive rollers and extends between the right side chassis


42


and the left side chassis


44


. The kick out plate


59


has a set


63


of upstanding rib members (RM) that help guide the output media through the media output slot


29


toward the output tray


34


. The kick out plate


59


includes at its back edge a series of spaced apart cutouts


64


-


67


that are dimensioned to allow the kick out plate


59


to be mounted adjacent the set


68


of the drive rollers forming part of the drive roller assembly. The kick out plate


59


also includes at its front edge a series of spaced apart cutouts


91


-


95


that are dimensioned to allow the kick out plate


59


to be mounted adjacent the front set


69


of the drive rollers forming part of the drive roller assembly.




A large cutout


96


is disposed next to cutout


95


and is dimensioned for receiving therein an output edge slide


97


that forms part of the output width adjuster slide assembly


130


.




Considering now the output width adjuster slide assembly


130


in greater detail with reference to

FIGS. 5-7

and


14


, the assembly


130


generally includes the input tray slide member


138


that is disposed in the input tray


32


, a pin assembly


104


that is mounted at a distal end of the media output slot


29


above the kick out plate


59


and the output edge slide


97


. The pin assembly


104


includes a finger-engaging unit


106


that supports from above the kick out plate adjuster pin


160


. In this regard, the pin


160


extends perpendicularly down from the finger engaging unit


106


passing through an adjustment hole


108


disposed in the the kick out plate


58


and a corresponding hole


109


disposed in the channel member


35


. The pin


160


has a sufficient length so that its distal free end is disposed within the interior of input tray


32


when the cassette


26


is mounted in the printer


10


.




Considering now the operation of the output width adjuster slide assembly


130


in greater detail, when the user adjusts the paper length adjuster


132


for A4 size media, the user also adjusts the finger engaging unit


104


for A4 media by sliding the unit


104


into a proper A4 position. The stack


194


of A


4


size media is then placed in the input tray


32


.




The user next inserts the cassette


26


into the printer


10


sliding the cassette


26


into the printer


10


until it is fully inserted. As the cassette


26


is being positioned in the printer


10


, the pin


160


engages a cam surface


126


that causes the slide


138


to be pushed rearwardly along its first path of travel. As the slide


138


is pushed rearwardly, it distal end furthest from the pin


160


engages another cam surface


128


causing the slide to move in a horizontal direction. A slide plate


129


integrally attached to the slide


102


moves into engagement with the floor


112


narrowing the width distance between the slide


138


and the side wall


114


. The narrow width is sufficient for A4 size media.




When the slide unit


138


is positioned for A size paper, the pin


160


is unable to engage the cam surface


126


. It should be noted that since the pin passes through the hole


108


in slide


97


, the slide


97


is automatically positioned providing the proper kick out for media passing through the media output slot


29


. In short then, the output edge slide


97


is moveable between two position within the cutout


96


: an A4 size position as seen in solid line in FIG.


14


and in an A size position as seen in dash line in FIG.


14


.




While particular embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed, it is to be understood that various different modifications are possible and are contemplated within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims. There is no intention, therefore, of limitations to the exact abstract or disclosure herein presented.



Claims
  • 1. A media cassette, comprising:a base unit having a front wall, a back wall, and a pair of side walls; a fixed floor member mounted between said pair of side walls and extending between said front wall and said back wall for defining a media input tray; said front wall having a lower opening for receiving telescopically therein a media output tray and an upper opening for providing unobstructed observation of at least a portion of the interior of said media input tray.
  • 2. A media cassette according to claim 1, wherein:said media output tray having a centrally disposed opening along a front portion thereof for facilitating finger gripping of said media output tray and for facilitating the extending of said output tray outwardly through said front wall lower opening.
  • 3. A media cassette according to claim 2, wherein:said front wall includes a recess for facilitating finger gripping of a lip portion of said front wall lower opening without changing said front wall.
  • 4. A media cassette, according to claim 3, wherein said recess is generally rectangular in shape.
  • 5. A media cassette, according to claim 3, wherein said upper opening is a window.
  • 6. A media cassette, according to claim 5, wherein said window is centrally diposed within said recess.
  • 7. A media cassette according to claim 6, wherein said window is semi elliptical in shape.
  • 8. A media tray, comprising:a cassette having a front wall, a pair of side walls and a rear wall dimensioned to facilitate the insertion of the cassette into a cassette receiving slot for a low profile printer; said cassette having a bottom chamber for receiving telescopically therein a media output tray and a top chamber for receiving stackably therein individual media sheets; said media output tray having a centrally disposed opening along a front portion thereof for facilitating finger gripping of said media output tray and for facilitating the extending of said output tray outwardly from said bottom chamber; a recess disposed in said front wall for enabling finger gripping of a lip portion of said opening without engaging said front wall; wherein said recess is generally rectangular in shape; and a window disposed in said recess and opposite said opening for providing unobstructed observation of at least an interior portion of said upper chamber to enable a user to determine whether said upper chamber has disposed therein at least a single media sheet.
  • 9. A media tray according to claim 8, wherein said window is centrally disposed within the recess of said front wall.
  • 10. A media tray according to claim 9, wherein said window is semi elliptical in shape.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This is a divisional of copending application Ser. No. 09/477,939 filed on Jan. 5, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,489. This application is related to the following copending utility patent applications, each filed concurrently on Jan. 5, 2000: Ser. No. 09/477,684 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,852 by James Osmus, entitled “Low Profile Printer with Open Bottom Paper Path”, Ser. No. 09/478,056 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,256 by Kerry McKay et al. entitled “Media Channel and Method of Clearing Media Jams”, Ser. No. 09/478,262 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,032, by James Osmus et al. entitled “Media Tray Supporter and Method of Using Same”, Ser. No. 09/477,937 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,407, by Kerry McKay et al., entitled “Stackable Printer And Method Of Using Same”, and Ser. No. 09/477,930 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,264, by James Osmus et. al. entitled: “Bezel and Method of Using Same”.

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5743518 Takashimizu et al. Apr 1998 A
5746528 Mayer et al. May 1998 A
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6132122 Robinson et al. Oct 2000 A